LONGVIEW, Texas -- The long wait is nearly over for the LeTourneau men's tennis team.

Under 14th-year head coach Suzanne Merritt, the YellowJackets open the spring season on Saturday vs. Howard Payne at Allen High School (10 a.m.).

LeTourneau is coming off a nine-win season in 2025, which concluded with an appearance in the ASC Tournament semifinals. The YellowJackets enter a new era of the program as members of the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC), marking the first conference change in the program's history.

THE ROSTER

Headlining the roster is senior Zach Farris as he leads a group of 10 returners for Merritt's squad in 2026.

Farris, the lone senior on the team, earned All-ASC second team honors at the top flight in singles a season ago and is a two-time all-conference honoree on the doubles side in his career. Farris went 12-10 overall in singles last year.

Sophomores Andrew Reiman, Fernando Vazquez, and Diego Maldonado had strong freshman seasons. Reiman led the team with 15 singles wins (13 in dual matches), while Maldonado had 13 and Vazquez had 11. Reiman played mostly at the No. 2 flight, Vazquez competed at No. 3, and Maldonado was at the No. 5 flight.

In the fall season, Maldonado and Vazquez went 6-1 as a tandem. Farris and Vazquez were the No. 1 duo last year, winning eight matches, while Maldonado and Reiman held down the No. 2 flight and won nine matches.

Junior Timothy Black was inserted into the No. 6 flight in singles and picked up six wins there while having 12 total singles last season.

Juniors Grayson Cavel and Brayden Money return along with sophomores Kale Crenshaw, Hayden Harry, and Josiah Nellis.

Mason Browne, Kalvin Dryman, and Jared Hodge are the three freshmen on this year's team.

SCAC OUTLOOK

LeTourneau enters a new conference for the first time in program history. 

Entering the SCAC, LeTourneau will not have to contend with national power Trinity -- winners of 15 straight SCAC titles -- as the Tigers moved to the SAA. Texas Lutheran, Concordia Texas, and St. Thomas look to be some of the top competition in the league this season in the wide open SCAC.

THE SCHEDULE

The season opener is set for Feb. 21 against former conference foe Howard Payne. The neutral site match will take place in Allen, Texas at Allen ISD.

The following weekend, SCAC play officially opens. The YellowJackets go on the road to face Austin College (Feb. 27) and Dallas (Feb. 28) to begin league play.

LeTourneau then heads to the PTR Spring Break Fest in Hilton Head, S.C., during the week of March 5-12. The YellowJackets make the trek East for a third straight year. The men are slated to play Division III foes Clark (March 6), Gordon (March 7), Carroll (March 8), and Greenville (Mach 10).

Upon returning, the YellowJackets get back into SCAC play on March 19-20 at Ozarks (March 19) and at Hendrix (March 20).

After over a month of playing non-home matches, LeTourneau hosts its first match of the season on March 27 vs. Texas Lutheran. That match is one of three straight at home for the YellowJackets as Concordia Texas (March 28) and former conference rival East Texas Baptist (March 31) make their way to Longview.

The last two weekends of conference play include a trip to Colorado Springs to face St. Thomas (April 10) and Colorado College (April 12) before finishing at home against Schreiner (April 17) and McMurry (April 18).

The SCAC Men's and Women's Tennis Tournament is set for April 24-26 in Kerrville, Texas.

FOLLOW THE YELLOWJACKETS

Be sure to follow LeTourneau athletics all season long on letuathletics.com and social media at Facebook, Twitter/X and Instagram for up-to-date scores, news, and other information.